Photo: Andre Carrotflower · CC BY-SA 4.0FEMA puts Brant’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 94% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Brant gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (93%). Flood insurance has paid 84 claims here since 1978.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What stands out about Brant’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Brant faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
What’s behind Brant’s grade
River and rain flooding is 93% of the building damage FEMA expects in Brant, and Brant’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 66% of U.S. census tracts.
A lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Brant’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $477K a year in losses across Brant: $362K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Brant flood? Sometimes: 84 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Brant, from FEMA’s records: 78.4 per 1,000 homes, more than 95% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Brant isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Erie County.7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Brant
Disasters that paid out in Brant itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Brant), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2014Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$60K to the Town of Brant for repairs
- 2009Severe Storms and Flooding$79K to the Town of Brant for repairs
- 2006Severe Storms and Flooding1 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
- 2004Severe Storms and Flooding$13K to the Town of Brant for repairs
- 2001Snow$10K to the Town of Brant for repairs
- 2000Snow$3K to the Town of Brant for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
Show all 7
- 1999Snow$4K to the Town of Brant for repairs
Erie County has had 20 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees; the 2001 World Trade Center declarations.
Old photos of Brant after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Brant archive →Brant and its neighbors
Brant is 3rd of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Collins | A+less damage than 96% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| North Collins | A+less damage than 96% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Brant | Aless damage than 94% | river and rain flooding | 84 |
| Eden | Aless damage than 93% | river and rain flooding | 5 |
| Evans | A−less damage than 83% | river and rain flooding | 72 |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Brant faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Brant
Is Brant at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Brant has lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (93%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Brant flood?
Flood insurance has paid 84 claims in Brant since 1978, $284K in all, or 78.4 per 1,000 homes, more than 95% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 13 properties have flooded more than once.
Is Brant in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Erie County, 28% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Brant?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Brant’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Brant?
By FEMA money that reached Brant, Severe Storms and Flooding (2009): $79K to the Town of Brant for repairs.
Is Brant at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (93%), and Brant’s rate for it is lower than 66% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Brant.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Brant’s residents lived in the 2020 census; OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.